Greed and entitlement are the key words of the upcoming election

My fellow Americans every one of you has participated in some way, by either action or inertia, in permitting or bringing about the terrible situation in which our nation finds itself. Today I will set forth the major things that together we must do to right our course, starting immediately. The basic idea is that since all of us have played a part in creating our problems, all will have to sacrifice in some way to help solve them. Every single one of us.

First I want to address top management of huge, publicly-held corporations: You pay yourselves far too much.

failing are obscene. It seems reasonable to me that a base salary of $1 million per month, with a performance bonus of up to $3 million, ought to be enough for anyone. Over years the concept of a board of directors has become a bad joke: Top management proposes; directors rubber stamp it OK. The concept of thrift has become obsolete. You ought to get rid of your highly paid corporate lobbyists, because Washington will no longer be heeding their pleas on your behalf for pet legislation or corporate welfare.

Now I move from the merely huge (corporations) to the humongous: The federal government. It’s hard to know where to begin suggesting changes. I’ll start with the single absolutely vital change: Congress must “bite the bullet” by adopting term limits. No more career representatives or senators who spend entire, overly-long working careers in Congress, buying re-election by “bringing home the bacon,” and collaborating with each other to get federal money spent in their districts or states. Also off-limits will be “earmarking,” your beloved technique of surreptitiously slipping into a bill at the last minute a section funding some pet project bearing no relation to the legislative bill.

All members of Congress ought to revert to the original and proper reason in running for elective office, which is public service, in case you have forgotten. Party and self must be relegated to runner-up status. Once elected you should treat public money as if it were your own; scrutinize proposed spending, root-out all waste and corruption, and discontinue all corporate welfare, such as ethanol and other agricultural subsidies. Remain skeptical of federal government growth. Look at what a humongus mess it has grown to be: Inefficient, wasteful, corrupt, improperly motivated, and resistant to change. Keep in mind government service does not attract the best people, quite the contrary. Keep government as small as possible.

Finally I turn to John Q Public: You, too, leave a lot to be desired. For about the last 50 years you have gradually allowed yourselves to be weaned away from self-sufficiency onto the government teat by an ever-accelerating succession of entitlements. Many of you have come to believe the government owes you almost everything. The one thing which will stimulate even the most lethargic among you to vote is threat of reduction in entitlements. Face the fact that entitlements are too generous, and must be reduced. I propose the following changes. Medicare and Medicaid must become less comprehensive: Significant deductibles and co-payments are necessary to start.

Social Security benefits must be means-tested, and on the basis of both income and assets, not income alone.

Extremely wealthy persons, many with generous pensions, should be willing to forgo claim to these benefits. The existing federal income tax code must be scrapped and replaced by a far simpler system with few deductions and exemptions. Every taxpayer (individual or family) ought to pay some income tax.

In closing, my friends, I ask for your vote in the coming presidential election.

Do you think my daring, truthful candidate would be elected? I don’t either. I’m afraid greed and entitlement have too firm a grip on our populace.

Comments are welcome, so long as they are civil. A Facebook account is required. Abuse may result in the commenter being permanently blocked. Personal attacks are strictly prohibited. We reserve the right to remove any comments at any time.